


Sometimes, Friends Are an Accident

by PikofthePok



Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Gio almost sees the consequences of his actions. Almost., Museum Trio, Sylvie begrudgingly gets attached to one (1) soup boy, Takes place just after Redwood Run, i live for their friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22394851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PikofthePok/pseuds/PikofthePok
Summary: Sylvie takes some time off to visit Molly. Unfortunately, like most things in his life, it doesn't go as planned as a newly-recognized criminal and familiar face decides to stop by as well. Alt Title: Sylvie Becomes an Accomplice.
Relationships: Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Giovanni Potage, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff, Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Molly Blyndeff & Giovanni Potage
Comments: 8
Kudos: 173





	Sometimes, Friends Are an Accident

It was late evening. Sylvie walked down the street casually, hands in his pockets. It had been some time since the events at the museum, so he'd had some time to recover. He figured some fresh air would do him some good. Besides, he had someone he wanted to visit. It was a rather calm time of day, the bustle of people on their everyday errands trickling to a slow. Perfect for getting around without much trouble. Now he just had to remember where he was going.

He dug around in his pocket for a moment, pushing aside some old candy wrappers and pulling out a small slip of paper. The Blyndeff Toy Emporium. Judging from the address on the card, he wasn't too far off. Pausing at a crosswalk, he scanned the street for a sign. Sure enough, there it was, right on the corner. Seeing no cars in sight, he quickly trotted across the road, not bothering to wait for the walk signal. Looking through the window, it didn't seem like they'd closed shop yet. In fact, the lights were still on. He grinned. Perfect timing, it seemed like. He wouldn't have mentioned it, but admittedly he was... rather nervous. He'd never really had anyone he really connected to, let alone directly offer to be his friend. Last time they'd seen each other, Molly didn't seem terribly upset, but he'd admit that what went down at the museum was rather... rough. But she offered. So there was no need to worry, right?

Sylvie adjusted his glasses. Well, it was no use standing on the street corner awkwardly. Steeling his courage, he pushed open the door.

"Uh... hello?" 

Looking around, the store was rather cozy. It had a rather sporadic air to it, toys scattered about the floor every so often with a lack of any noticeable kind of organization. Even so, it felt... calm. Even through the mess, he almost felt at peace. 

"Oh, Sylvie! Hello!" 

A familiar voice called out to him. To his left was a little toy table, complete with a frilly pink tea set. And in one of the seats sat Molly Blyndeff. She gave a little wave. 

"Hey! I'm glad I caught you at a good time." He said, smiling. Molly gave a quiet chuckle. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm always here. At least when I'm not participating in a museum robbery." She beamed. Sylvie chuckled, adjusting his glasses impulsively. She somehow seemed to be rather used to saying things like that unflinchingly. How often does she rob museums...?

"So uh, are you busy? I had some free time, so I thought I'd stop by." He said, walking over to the table. 

"Nope! I was just setting up for a friend." Molly said. "You can join in if you'd like!" Oh, she had a guest. Well, that wasn't really much of an issue. The more the merrier, right? As much as he'd like a one on one chat, he wasn't inflexible. Besides, meeting someone new didn't sound awful. "Uh- yeah, that sounds nice." He said. "Who do you have over?"

"Well-"

"Seriously, Bear Trap, you live like this? Your soap isn't even shaped like little dinosaurs!" Oh. "Remind me to grab you some--" The new voice trailed off as they stepped into the room. Of course. Standing in the doorway at the opposite side of the room, dressed in a heavy hoodie, was the Banzai Blaster Captain, Giovanni Potage. 

"Oh, great. It's you." They groaned in unison. 

"What are _you_ doing here, Mr. Yo-Yo?" Giovanni sneered.

" _Dr._ Yo-Yo." Sylvie retorted. "And I'm here to visit a friend. A better question would be what are you doing here? I thought you went off to your 'secret villain base' or whatever it is you have." Giovanni looked briefly taken aback, but his defiance quickly made a return.

"Well maybe I _did_. What if I just wanted to pay my minion a visit like a good captain, huh?" He huffed, crossing his arms. 

"Guysss, the tea is gonna get cold." Molly protested, holding up her hands. "Why don't we all just have a nice talk over some tea?" Sylvie and Giovanni locked eyes for a moment, then turned away.

"Fine." Sylvie said.

"Fine." Giovanni repeated, plopping down in the toy chair that was, frankly, far too small for him. Sylvie figured that just standing around awkwardly probably wouldn't do him much good. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the small toy chairs were all that there was to sit on. Well, it was only polite to join the table. He pulled a chair aside on the opposite side of Giovanni. Molly smiled gratefully, holding out the teapot in his direction.

"Would you like some tea, Sylvie?" She asked, pushing an empty cup in his direction. Sylvie's eyes flicked between the Molly and the pot. "Er, yeah, that'd be great. Thanks." He said uncertainly. Molly nodded and scooted over towards him, tipping the pot and... pouring him some tea. Sylvie raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, it's... real tea." He commented, genuinely surprised. 

"Yep! Earl Grey!" Molly chimed. Oh. That was his favorite. He dipped his head towards Molly in a gesture of thanks. His eyes flicked around the store, carefully avoiding his adversary across the miniature table. Even though he was almost certain he hadn't stopped glaring at him since arrival. How mature of him. Sylvie still couldn't believe this was the guy Molly decided to hang around. The guy practically radiated trouble. Not to mention he'd somehow managed to get away with stealing a priceless artifact. He was stunned he even managed to pull it off. The guy looked like he thought "Rowdy Misconduct" was the epitome of crime. Actually, now that he mentioned it...

"So what _did_ happen after the museum heist?" Sylvie asked. "What did you do with the A--"

Giovanni shushed him loudly, flailing his arms a little. "You can't just bring that up in public like that! I'm undercover!" He hissed. Sylvie raised an eyebrow. "...Of course." Giovanni shot him a look.

"Besides, Banzai Business stays with the Banzai Blasters." He said matter-of-factly. "And you, last I checked, are not a Banzai Blaster." Molly nudged Giovanni's arm.

"But Boss, he _is_ an accomplice. He helped! So maybe just this once you can let him in on it...?" She said, leaning just a bit closer. She was... vouching for him. Giovanni seemed conflicted. "But I don't wanna..." He protested, but Molly gave him a firm look. He seemed to weigh his choices, then groaned. "Ughhhh, fine. I will grant you _temporary_ Banzai Blaster Status™️." Sylvie pulled a face. "...Great."

Giovanni glanced to the left and right, almost as if checking for interlopers. In a toy store. Just before closing time. He leaned in close and, he wouldn't admit it, but Sylvie leaned in too. 

"So I may have..." Giovanni began nervously. "...lost the amulet."

"You _what!?_ " Sylvie shouted, and Giovanni quickly hushed him again. His expression shifted about five times before he finally settled on a solid Frustrated Disbelief. "You went through all that trouble to steal a highly guarded and highly valuable artifact- that _multiple_ people were after- and you _lost it!?_ " He whispered harshly.

"Listen! If you were me you wouldn't have done much better, Mr. 'I Got My Epithet Stolen!'" Giovanni shot back.

" _Watch it._ " Sylvie growled, but Giovanni continued.

"So maybe I got ganged up on by some Banzai Vice Principals, but they got what was coming to 'em." He said, ignoring Sylvie's confused look at the mention of another Banzai Rank. "There was this wicked scary cowboy lady after the amulet too, and she had _at least_ two guns! _And_ the police were there! Me 'n Car Crash barely got outta there alive."

Sylvie took a deep, practiced breath. "So let me get this straight. You let some bozos--"

"Banzai Vice Principals."

"-- _Other hooligans_ steal the amulet from you. And then almost got caught by the police." Sylvie finished. 

"And a cowboy." Molly chimed in. 

"And a cowboy, I guess."

Giovanni thought for a moment, then... "Yep! That's about right." Sylvie gave him a look of sheer disbelief. 

"So... if you don't have it, and the Banzai Blasters don't have it... Who does?" Molly asked.

Silence.

"I uh... don't know." Giovanni said. Sylvie groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could not believe this. After all that chaos over that dumb necklace, Giovanni really just went and lost it. He didn't even get the chance to get a good look at it. Ugh-- what was he thinking? That's what he was worried about? In the wrong hands, that amulet could do all kinds of terrible things. If they didn't track it down fast, there'd be no telling what kind of chaos would be wrought. He just had to think. Where could it have possibly gone? Where should they start? 

Sylvie glanced out of the window, taking a sip of tea as a car passed by. And slowed. And came to a stop. That was odd. Another visitor...? No, hold on...

"You have to go." Sylvie said quickly, putting down his cup. 

"Um, we're kind of in the middle of something here." Giovanni frowned. Sylvie stood up sharply, looking around urgently for any sort of escape route. "No, I mean _you have to go!_ We've got company." He said, grabbing onto Giovanni's arm.

"Company? What are you--" His expression dropped as he saw the pattern of the car parked just outside of the shop. Adorned on the side of the doors were the words Sweet Jazz Police. "Police lady!? What is she doing here!?"

"Don't worry about it, just _move._ " Sylvie urged, tugging the taller man out of sight of the window. "Is there like, a back door or something to this place!?" 

"Uh-- yes, but--" Molly began, but there was a knock at the door. The three of them jumped. "The closet! I-it's a little cluttered, but you should be able to hide until the coast is clear!"

Molly quickly scampered over to the door as Giovanni pulled open the closet. A pile of toys rolled out of the doorway with a sad _squeak..._

"Huh! So that's where those went!" Molly chimed as Giovanni sputtered.

"There's no _room!_ " He grumbled as he began kicking toys aside haphazardly. Another knock. "You'll figure it out, just _get in there!_ " Sylvie hissed, pushing the Banzai Captain inside and slamming the closet shut with his back against the door. There was a series of tumbles and clatters from the other side, but it quickly faded into quiet. Sylvie let out a breath. That went about as well as it could've. He gave Molly a thumbs up from across the room. Nodding, she opened the front door.

"Hi, Miss Percy!" Molly chimed as a rather tall and regal looking woman walked in. What really caught Sylvie's eye, though, was the large sword at her waist. He recognized this woman. She was the one who came and broke up all the commotion at the museum. If he recalled correctly, that was no prop. That was a real actual goddamn sword. And she looked well equipped to use it.

"Hello, Molly. I trust you've been doing well since we last met?" She asked, surveying the area. She looked at the pile of toys strewn about Sylvie's feet curiously. It was fine, there were toys everywhere. All he had to do was act casual.

"I see you have a visitor." She mused. "If I recall, you were also one of the Banzai Blaster hostages on that fateful night at the museum." 

"Uh... Yep." Sylvie said, keeping his expression level. A quiet snickering came from behind the door. Great. "That. Was me." He put his hands in his pockets, giving the door a subtle kick. Not enough to rouse suspicion, but enough to tell the stowaway to _shut up_. 

"Well, I am glad to see that you are doing all right. I imagine it was a rough night for you." Percy said, dipping her head. Sylvie blinked. "Uh.. yeah. Thanks." 

"So uh, what brings you here, Percy?" Molly asked. "Did you find the Banzai Blasters?" Percy's eyes lit up.

"Ah, right. That is actually what I came here to speak about." She said, walking over to the miniature table. "You wouldn't mind if I took a seat, would you? I wouldn't want to interrupt anything."

"Oh no, go ahead! I can pour you a cup of tea if you'd like!" Molly offered, walking over and picking up the teapot. Percy smiled. "That would be quite nice, thank you."

Molly pulled over another cup and began pouring some tea as Percy sat down beside her. She raised an eyebrow, looking the table over for a moment. "Oh? You did not tell me you had someone else over." She mused. Molly paused, eyes briefly meeting Sylvie's.

"Uh... what do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, there's three cups here, not including mine." Percy said. "So that would imply the presence of someone else in the area." Drat, they should've thought of that! Come on,think of something...

"Oh! That's because! Uh, it belongs to... one of my friends!" Molly said. "Yeah! They just left, though. They were in a hurry, you just missed em." 

Percy paused for a moment, then... "That makes sense. I was hoping to have this conversation in private anyway." Sylvie let out a breath of relief as Molly passed the cup over with a smile. That was a bit shaky, but it looked like she bought it. Though, it wasn't technically untrue. He just... hadn't fully left yet. He just hoped that Percy wouldn't stay too long.

"So what was it about the Banzai Blasters?" Molly asked, taking a sip of her own tea. Percy nodded.

"Right. I cannot reveal too much as it is private police business, but I can assure you that you likely won't have to worry about those Banzai Blasters anymore. We've arrested a good number of them." She answered.

"Oh, that's good to hear." Molly said. Sylvie could tell she was practically dancing around eggshells to keep from seeming suspicious. Hopefully that was all the officer had to say and she could go along her way...

" _Psst. Hey, kid._ "

Was that--

" _Ask about the amulet._ " Giovanni whispered through the door. He couldn't possibly be serious. He was in the same room with a police officer-- one who was after him specifically, at that-- and he was _whispering to him?_ Thankfully, Percy had her back to him and couldn't see the multiple emotions that flashed across his face in that moment. He didn't want to risk being heard speaking back so... Fine.

"So uh, what happened to the amulet? Did you find it?" Sylvie spoke up. Percy raised her eyebrows, almost as if she didn't think he'd ask that question. She thought for a moment.

"Well... Yes. I can certainly say it is in good hands." She said, satisfied with her answer. He nodded. Okay, at least the amulet was safe. He could cross that one off of his internal list of anxieties. Then, there was a clattering behind him. Sylvie froze. And there's number two on the anxiety list. Percy quickly turned his way, alarmed. Molly shot him a panicked look from behind her.

"What... was that?" Percy asked. Okay, that was _less than ideal_ , but he could save it. He just needed to think of something. Quickly. On the spot.

"Uh. Cleaning!" Sylvie said. That would do for now. "I did a really bad job cleaning up. Something probably just fell off the shelf in there. Oh no." This was so stupid.

"Well, I can certainly help tidy up if you need--" Percy began.

"No! No, you really don't have to." Sylvie laughed.

"Yeah! It'd be awfully rude of us to make you clean up. You're a guest!" Molly piped up, drawing Percy's attention from the closet. "We're almost done anyway."

"Well... if you insist." Percy said, though she seemed like she wanted to help anyway. "Well, I suppose I'll let you two finish up your business." She stood up, and Sylvie let out an internal breath of relief. Molly smiled.

"Oh! Thank you for stopping by, Miss Percy!" She said as Percy headed towards the door. 

"Of course, dear citizen. It is only fair for me to keep you updated on the situation." She smiled. She began to head out the door, but then... she stopped. "Ah, right. One more thing."

Percy put on a more serious face. "If you see any signs of that Banzai Captain from the museum, let me know. We have reason to believe he is still at large. Goes by the name 'Giovanni Potage.'" 

"Uh, of course. I'll keep an eye out, officer." Molly said, giving a thumbs up. Percy smiled.

"Excellent. Have a nice evening." She said with a nod. And with that, she left. Molly and Sylvie stayed silent for a few moments, watching as the car out front started up and began to drive away. After what felt like an eternity, the vehicle finally disappeared around the corner.

The two let out a sigh. "That. Was close." Molly groaned. Sylvie sighed. "Too close." He finally moved from the front of the closet door, jumping as a small pile of toys rolled out-- upon which sat a very frazzled looking Giovanni.

"What do you keep in there?" Sylvie asked, carefully stepping out of the pile of toys by his feet. "Well, my dad used to throw things in there when he didn't feel like cleaning up." Molly explained exhaustedly. "He said he stopped doing that... Dad..." Sylvie frowned. Yeah, he was probably going to have to take her up on that therapy offer. 

"Did you guys _hear that!?_ They're still trying to track me down!" Giovanni exclaimed, standing up quickly-- but not without stumbling over at least five different stuffed animals. "What am I supposed to do!? They know my _name_. I'm gonna have to skip town! I'm gonna have to _change my name!_ I don't even know what to change my name to..." Sylvie furrowed his brow.

"That is a major issue." Sylvie pondered. "Not only do they know your name, but also what you look like..."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Since when did you participate in criminal activity? I thought you were some stuck-up rule follower." Giovanni interrupted, a hand on his chin. Sylvie sputtered. "I am _not_. An accomplice in all this."

"Uh, actually, I'm pretty sure you're helping a fugitive. Which is the definition of being an accomplice. In a crime." Molly said. Sylvie paused, trying to think of an excuse. And kept pausing. He frowned.

"Oho! My devious debauchery is finally starting to rub off on you!" Giovanni prodded. Sylvie looked insulted. "Nope. That is not what's going on here!" He argued. 

"Uh, it sure looks like it from where I stand." Giovanni said with a sly grin. 

" _Listen_. I could've ratted you out at any given moment." Sylvie shot back.

"But 'cha _didn't_." Giovanni snickered.

"Boss is right. Neither of us saw the cop lady pull up. You could've just not said anything." Molly said thoughtfully. "Sylvie... do you secretly care about Giovanni?" Sylvie looked utterly appalled. He did _not_... him? Why would he possibly... Absolutely not. It was just to protect them in the moment, that was it. Why would he care about some juvenile man that practically lived to aggravate him? But the more and more he denied it, the more it stuck. He grimaced. He could not believe this.

"I think you broke him again." Giovanni said, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Dr. Yo-Yo." Sylvie snapped back to attention, pushing the Banzai Captain's hand out of his face. "Stop _doing_ that." He snapped. "So... So _maybe_ I think it's within our best interests to keep him around. But that's _it_."

Molly and Giovanni gave him a wide grin-- one far more smugly than the other-- but he kept his mouth shut and looked away. "Well, I guess in the meantime you can stay here with me, Boss." Molly said. "I don't think it'd be very safe for you to go outside like this." 

"Are you sure about this, Bear Trap? I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire here." Giovanni said uncertainly. Molly nodded.

"We've got a guest room upstairs! I could probably grab a few blankets and you could sleep there!" She said. "Dad's out on vacation, so we don't need to worry about that. I doubt he would've noticed anyway." Giovanni beamed.

"Aww, Bear Trap...! C'mere." Giovanni pulled Molly close, ruffling her hair as she laughed in his embrace. "Also, remind me to fight your dad when he comes back."

"Boss..."

"I'll do it."

Sylvie watched as the two laughed, grinning softly. Molly turned towards him. "What about you, Sylvie? Where are you going? I can probably make more room upstairs if you want! It'll be like a sleepover!" Sylvie blinked.

"Uh... I _was_ just going to go home..." He began, and Molly looked a bit dejected. He wasn't exactly prepared to spend the night... but it wasn't like he had anything planned. Nobody was waiting for him, really, but also... He'd never had a sleepover before. "... but I think I can afford to stick around." He finished. Molly's eyes sparkled, a big grin spreading across her face.

"Yay!! Thank you, Sylvie!!" She cheered, tossing her arms around him. He stumbled a bit, surprised. He paused for a moment, then... placed an arm around her as well, smiling warmly. "Uh... no problem." He said, averting his gaze. He'd never had a sleepover before, but... he supposed that it couldn't go too badly.

"As is customary of a new secret base, we're gonna need another fort. How 'bout the name Fort Doomslayer?" Called Giovanni from across the room, already setting up piles of stuffed animals. "Oh! I'll cover the bandannas!" Molly replied, trotting over. Sylvie rolled his eyes with a laugh. Yeah. Not too badly at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Wahoo, how's that for my first Epithet Erased fic? 'Course it had to be them, the found family fuels my soul. Thanks for readin'!


End file.
